Foundry Found With 4.000 AyA Stolen Water Meters
September 25th, 2009 | by admin |For years the Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) - water and sewer utility - has been combating the disappearance of water meters, many stolen from their installed location in front of homes and commercial properties, while more missing from its warehouses.
A police action yesterday at a foundry located in Tacares, in Grecia, found 4.000 meters or 43% of the AyA total loss between 2002 and 2006, a period when the utility lost some 9.787 meters, for a report loss of some ¢300 million colones.
The stolen meters confiscated by agents of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) yesterday are valued at ¢61 million colones.
However, not all the confiscated meters belong to the AyA, many belonging to municipalities and community associations.
The company raided operated as a foundry, as well as fabricating fire hydrants.
The OIJ agents, who were acting on an anonymous tip, were surprised at the quantity of stolen meters on the premises, that included a loaded tractor trailer.
According to Jorge Fuentes, spokesperson for the AyA, before October 2008, some 500 meters a month went missing and then slowed down, partly due to the fall in prices on international markets.
Fuentes added that the AyA initially believed that the meters were being shipped to neighbouring Nicaragua, until some months ago when agents lost track of a pick up truck they were pursuing in the area of Grecia, leading investigators to believe that the units were still in the country.
The surprise to AyA is that, according to early reports, a great number of the meters were sold to the foundry by AyA employees.
“We are not exempt from corruption”, said Fuentes, who added that during the period of 2002 and 2008, with more than 100 raids only 1% of the missing meters were recovered.
